In the art of constructing buildings, it is common practice to cast the base or foundation with concrete. A trench or excavation channel is prepared into which the forms, either made from steel or wood, are set up adjacent and connected to each other matching the dimensions of the required foundation (footing). The forms, which are steel panels or wooden boards or planks, are put into position on their edges across from each other and parallel to each other near the side walls of the trench.
Steel reinforcement generally takes the form of reinforcing bars that are placed in the form in such a manner that the wet concrete completely covers the reinforcing bar. Horizontally oriented reinforcing bar is generally held in place by using separate reinforcing bar mounting stands. Some of the generally available reinforcing bar stands can be connected to the form after the form has been constructed, while others are positioned in the form and the reinforcing bar is placed on the device. Vertically oriented reinforcing bar is generally secured in the form by devices that are connected to the form after it is constructed. Placing the reinforcing bar securing devices in the desired location within the form requires additional labor and some degree of skill.
There are several devices in the prior art that can be used to secure vertically and horizontally oriented reinforcing bars inside of a concrete form. One such device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,937,604, issued on Aug. 17, 1999, to Bowron. The Bowron patent discloses a form wall spacer in the configuration of a truss having top and bottom horizontal frame members interconnected by angularly extending reinforcing struts. The top frame member is configured to rest upon the upper edges of a pair of spaced concrete form walls, and end portions of the top frame member are extended downward for abutment by the outer sides of the spaced concrete form walls. A pair of spaced clip members are each configured to removably support a pair of lengths horizontally oriented reinforcing bars. A pair of vertically spaced reinforcing bar supports are mounted on the top and bottom frame members for frictionally securing a vertically extending length of reinforcing bar for forming a structural tie between a concrete footing and a vertically extending concrete wall.
Because of the way the device disclosed in the Bowron patent is structured, the horizontally oriented reinforcing bars must be either placed in the form prior to insertion of the spacer or placed into the spacer prior to placement of the spacer into the form. Additionally, the horizontally oriented reinforcing bars must be exactingly placed in snaps that are located on the bottom of the spacer, thus requiring additional time spent placing the bars in each spacer. The spacer disclosed in the '604 patent also limits the placement of vertically oriented reinforcing bars to the specific locations of the spacer and thereby requires that a spacer must be placed at each location in the form where a vertically oriented section of reinforcing bar is required.
Another device for supporting horizontally oriented reinforcing bars in a foundation footing form is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,224,799, issued to Parker. The Parker patent discloses a castelated bracket that is used to maintain the spaced apart relationship of a pair of form side walls of a footing form. While the device disclosed therein does make provisions for dimpled areas for supporting reinforcing bar, the device does not have means for securing the reinforcing bar in the dimpled areas. The Parker patent also does not disclose any device having guide members for directing reinforcing bar to a desired location, nor does it disclose a device for securing vertically oriented reinforcing bars.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,616,977, issued to Koivu discloses clips attached to vertically oriented reinforcing bars in a form for concrete walls. The bars are placed through a plurality of clips that are attached to the form and the rod then holds the clips in the proper relationship to each other. The Koivu patent does not disclose a device that can be attached to sections of horizontally oriented reinforcing bar.
Thus a need exists for devices that can be used for securing vertically and horizontally oriented reinforcing bars in concrete forms that do not require sections of reinforcing bars to be placed in the form prior to insertion of such devices. An additional need exists for devices that can be used for vertically oriented reinforcing bars that does not require a supporting device for horizontally oriented bars at each location where a vertical bar is required.